The "Core 2 Quad" club

[Andro Boy]

After seeing all of this discussion about Ryzen and the i5 and i7 CPU's constantly, I was wondering how many of you guys are still rocking a system with a C2Q?

Known as Intel's first mass market quad core chip, this thing still trucks along, even in modern games. I have a q9450 2.66 GHz version running in my machine, and it's still my main gaming machine. All I needed was the max 8 GB and a 1050 ti.

The fact that this thing can even play Fallout 4 on Ultra and still be on par or have slightly better fps than consoles is amazing to me. I don't have any serious plans about replacing it any time soon, so I plan on keeping it going for as long as I need. There's just something about older hardware that still trudges on while continuing to be useful.

Anyway, you guys still using a similar chip from this line?

 

[Rifter]

im one gen newer, rocking a i7930@4.2Ghz for last 7 years.

On its third GPU now.

 

[Hitman928]

I still have a q9300 and was doing tests on it from time to time up until the motherboard recently bit the dust. It will post but has no usb functionality. If I could get a cheap board to put it in, I would totally boot it up and bench it again.

 

[ZGR]

Fallout 4 without all those delicious mods and increased population + less HP makes any old Intel chip die hard.

I'm not saying Core 2 Quad is completely useless, but it definitely shows it age. Even Nehelam.

I think it is great that these old CPU's can play games, but they cannot handle anywhere near the amount of AI newer chips can do. Once you get used to fighting off a horde of 100 feral ghouls (they die in 1-2 shots to the head) at a smooth 60 fps, going back to vanilla Fallout 4 is not worth it at all.

If you enjoy yourself though, then thats all that matters. Fun isn't relative with NPC count. My 3.06 GHz 4c/8t Nehalem can't play any new titles without significant stutters compared to my current i7. I don't miss it at all!

 

[formulav8]

I have a q9450 2.66 GHz version running in my machine,

I had the same exact cpu and replaced with a 860k @ 4ghz and the things I do improved for very little $. I'm not a higher end gamer either.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have a q9450 2.66 GHz version running in my machine, and it's still my main gaming machine. All I needed was the max 8 GB and a 1050 ti.

The fact that this thing can even play Fallout 4 on Ultra

That seems pretty amazing to me, honestly. I guess that those Core2Quads really have longevity.

I've still got a few of them kicking about here; I rarely hook them up anymore though. (G4560 or above for web browsing is where it's at, as far as I'm concerned.)

 

[MajinCry]

After seeing all of this discussion about Ryzen and the i5 and i7 CPU's constantly, I was wondering how many of you guys are still rocking a system with a C2Q?

Known as Intel's first mass market quad core chip, this thing still trucks along, even in modern games. I have a q9450 2.66 GHz version running in my machine, and it's still my main gaming machine. All I needed was the max 8 GB and a 1050 ti.

The fact that this thing can even play Fallout 4 on Ultra and still be on par or have slightly better fps than consoles is amazing to me. I don't have any serious plans about replacing it any time soon, so I plan on keeping it going for as long as I need. There's just something about older hardware that still trudges on while continuing to be useful.

Anyway, you guys still using a similar chip from this line?

Guv'nah, I've a couple things for you to try.

Run this draw call benchmark: https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/part-2-measuring-cpu-draw-call-performance.2499609/

First with the process' threads assigned to your first two cores via ProcessHacker, then assign one of the threads to your last core. Curious to see if there's a penalty like with Ryzen.

After that, run me Fallout 4 test setup: https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/ryzen-w-amd-gpu-performance-in-fallout-4.2501467/

Really want to see how it fairs.

 

[nathanddrews]

I still have a Q6600 kicking around. I turned it on to get the free Windows 10 upgrade, then rolled back and turned it off and haven't touched it since. If I can get through the other junk on my workbench, I'd love to boot it up and run some tests on it.

 

[Valantar]

I have a q9450 2.66 GHz version running in my machine, and it's still my main gaming machine.

Same here. Went all-in the year before last and stuck a Fury X in there. Works surprisingly well, at around 10% less FPS than reviews of the GPU. I've been running a 24/7 stable OC to 3.52GHz since around then (on a Hyper 212 Evo), which has helped out a lot. Heck, even BF1 at 1440p is smooth. I was sure it died for good a few weeks ago, but it turned out to be just a dead DIMM. Down to 6GB of RAM for now, but I haven't really noticed any difference.

It's going away soon though: I also have a Ryzen 1700X lying on my desk. Just missing a motherboard (like everyone else).

For now, I'm content with pushing the C2Q ever further (at 3.64GHz at the moment, think I can get it even higher) - something I didn't dare to do before I knew it was getting replaced soon. The motherboard is struggling more than the CPU, with NB and SB temps soaring and no real way to fix them. Might have to replace the thermal pads on their heatsinks if I'm going to get my OC any higher. I'm considering sticking one of my Gentle Typhoons on the 212 Evo just for laughs (heck, I think I paid more for the fan than for the heatsink!).

Also, various sensors on the board are ... weird. It reports my GPU VCORE as something like 20000V, and CPU temps seem ... unreliable, if not plain wrong. Idles at 55-65 degrees (at 2.7GHz ...), but never comes close to 90 under load. Usually reports ~60 even while gaming (which usually pegs the CPU at 100% on all cores these days).

 

[Denithor]

im one gen newer, rocking a i7930@4.2Ghz for last 7 years.

On its third GPU now.

Upgrade that 930 to a hex-core Westmere Xeon chip? Cost is around $40 these days on eBay unless I'm mistaken. Lots of X58 Xeon threads around here...

 

[rbk123]

Running a Q6600 OC'd to 3.4ghz as my main rig, but I'm not a gamer. Still runs Handbrake well; not as fast as my 2500k at 4.5ghz, but not bad.

 

[rchunter]

I just got rid of my q6600 system the other day. Pulled the mb, cpu, ram, video card and installed asus hero vi, i7 4770k, 32gb g.skill ddr3, gtx 980ti.
I sent it off to charity where it belongs. I plan on claiming a $150 or so on my taxes....

 

[dullard]

My main computer is a Q8300 purchased 7.5 years ago on a $499 Dell computer deal. It has handled everything that I have thrown at it without problem until recently (it doesn't like the Dominion card games and Excel open at the same time).

I've been eyeing an i5 7600, but none of the large OEMs use it in their builds. For example, Dell uses the i5 7400 chip which is 500 MHz slower base (600 MHz slower turbo) for only $40 less. I'd gladly pay $40 for 500 MHz more speed. Thus, I'd have to build one myself (no time) or go to a custom builder ($1000 minimum). To get what I'd want I'd have to pay nearly double what I paid for a Q8300 computer and would barely get a bit more than double the performance on the CPU intensive tasks that I have (mostly integer-based code that I wrote). I'll cave at some point this year, but that Q8300 was such a good value that it is hard to move on.

 

[psolord]

The test in my signature is my last tribute to my Q9550. It gave me a great user experience and tremendous overclocking fun. However I believe the Sandy Bridges, are the best chips intel ever made and I will try to hold onto my 2500k even longer (as a secondary machine).

 

[2is]

My Q6600 was a viable CPU far longer then I ever expected it to be, but I moved on some time ago, though over the years through the accumulation of parts and what not, I erect a C2Q build and mess around just to see how well they still perform, my personal opinion today is that for gaming, at least modern ones, they do not perform well at all and are too power thirsty to use as a simple home office type machine.

 

[sm625]

I have a Q6600 mounted on a gigabyte P35-DS3R motherboard. I almost threw it away but decided to not to.

 

[Ventanni]

I have a secondary Core 2 Quad system listed in my signature. I actually pull it out about once a month and use it just to keep it updated. It works beautifully and it's fun to play on. Nowhere near as fast as my Core i7, but it plays Everquest, Twitch, YouTube, etc just fine.

 

[phexac]

The real chip with longevity is the i7 2600k. It's about to turn 6 years old and it can still match modern chips' performance. When OCed, it will come close to matching stock i7 6700k. It eats all games and reasonable prosumer workloads with not trouble. And that is likely to remain the case for a few more years to come. With Kaby Lake being no improvement at all over Skylake, makes that i7 2600k one of the best CPU purchases in history imo.

 

[ZipSpeed]

I have a Q9550 @ 3.4 GHz running World Community Grid 24/7. It is my oldest rig that is still running DC projects. Other than putting in a SSD, the rig is still running all original components. Hard to believe it's going to be 10 years next year.

 

[Valantar]

The test in my signature is my last tribute to my Q9550. It gave me a great user experience and tremendous overclocking fun. However I believe the Sandy Bridges, are the best chips intel ever made and I will try to hold onto my 2500k even longer (as a secondary machine).

Hm. I'm interested in how you got the 9550 to 4GHz, seeing how I'm in the process of seeing how far I can push my 9450. You don't by any chance have any tips?

 

[2is]

Hm. I'm interested in how you got the 9550 to 4GHz, seeing how I'm in the process of seeing how far I can push my 9450. You don't by any chance have any tips?

It's going to be a lot harder with the 9450 due to it's lower multiplier. Most boards will not be stable at 500mhz (2GHz) bus speed which is how high you'd need to go for 4GHz.

If you do manage it, it won't last long due to the amount of voltage you'd need to pump into the northbridge.

 

[AtenRa]

After seeing all of this discussion about Ryzen and the i5 and i7 CPU's constantly, I was wondering how many of you guys are still rocking a system with a C2Q?

Known as Intel's first mass market quad core chip, this thing still trucks along, even in modern games. I have a q9450 2.66 GHz version running in my machine, and it's still my main gaming machine. All I needed was the max 8 GB and a 1050 ti.

The fact that this thing can even play Fallout 4 on Ultra and still be on par or have slightly better fps than consoles is amazing to me. I don't have any serious plans about replacing it any time soon, so I plan on keeping it going for as long as I need. There's just something about older hardware that still trudges on while continuing to be useful.

Anyway, you guys still using a similar chip from this line?

Yea still going strong

 

[Valantar]

It's going to be a lot harder with the 9450 due to it's lower multiplier. Most boards will not be stable at 500mhz (2GHz) bus speed which is how high you'd need to go for 4GHz.

If you do manage it, it won't last long due to the amount of voltage you'd need to pump into the northbridge.

Oh, I didn't think of that. I didn't even know Intel ever did non-integer multipliers I'm running at 455 FSB (3640MHz) right now, so I'm guessing I'll be hard pressed to get past 3.7-3.8. I haven't even touched the NB voltage though, the X48 Rampage Formula seems very good at regulating that automatically. Nor have I activated load-line calibration. Running at 1.35V CPU right now, though no monitoring software ever reads more than 1.31. I guess we'll see how far I can get it to go.

 

[Burpo]

This Gateway FX 8020 is running a quad Xeon X3230 and is my daily work machine. Been on 24X7 since 2008 & I kinda wish it would die, but doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon

 

[yepp]

Q9650 here, reckon this chip can do 4GHz easy, but motherboard being a P43 has a FSB wall around 415MHz. Feeding it 1.275v in BIOS for 3.6GHz, vdroops to 1.184v under load. LLC disabled, don't want to cook those naked VRMs. Plan to keep this as my forever Win 7 rig, the honor was originally given to one of my LGA1156 rigs that recently bit the dust. So a perfect excuse for a new toy and just in time for Ryzen, a story for another time I guess.